Improved gold-amalgamator



' J. H. FISHER.

Ore Amalgamator.

No. 19,246 Patented Feb. 2 1858' AM. PHOTOLITHOxCb. N.Y. (OSBORNE'SPRObESSJ UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH H. FISHER, OF PLAOERVILLE, CALIFORNIA.

IMPROVED GOLD-AlVIALGAlVlATOR.v

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 19,2 16, dated February2, 1858.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J OSEPH H. FISHER, of Placerville,-in the county ofEl Dorado and State of California, have invented a new and usefulAmalgamating Attachment to be Applied to Gold-Quartz Crushers; and I dohereby declare that the followingis afull, clear, and exact descriptionof the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making a partof this specification, in which- Figures 1 and 2 are vertical centralsections of my improvement, the two planes of section crossing eachother at right angles.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the twofigures.

The object of this invention is to receive and retain the small globulesof alloys (mercury and gold) which escape with the wash from gold-quartzwashers. The globules in the aggregate are of considerable value, andhave hitherto been allowed to escape, no means, so far as I am aware,having been devised to retain them.

The invention consists in placing a cylinder having a periphery or faceof silver, or other metal which readily amalgamates with mercury, withina wheel which is placed within a box, the face of the wheel being open,or formed of bars or slats, and the whole so arranged that the wash fromthe crusher is made to fall upon the silver face of the cylinder, whichis rotated slowly by rotating the wheel, and of course amalgamates wit-hand unites the globules of alloys, thereby separatingthe same from theimpurities of the wash.

To enable those skilled in the art to fully understand andconstruct myinvention, I will proceed to describe it.

A represents a rectangular framing, within which a semi-cylindricalcase, B, is placed. This case may be constructed whollyor in part ofcast-iron, and at the center of the bottom of the case an inclinedgroove, 0, is made, said groove communicating at its lower end with afaucet, b. At the opposite side of the case, and at a point somewhathigher than the faucet b, an opening, 0, is made, as shown clearly inFig. 2.

0 represents a shaft, which is placed on the upper part of the frame A,at about its center, and D is a wheel, which is placed on said shaft.

This wheel is formed of one series of arms, (I, attached to the shaft 0by a hub, e, the hub and arms being cast in one piece, and the ends ofthe arms having arim, f, attached to them. This rim has horizontal barsg attached to it, the opposite ends of which are attached to a rim, h.The rims f It and bars 9 form the periphery of the wheel. The bars 9 areplaced at suitable distances apart, and each rim fh is provided with aflange, i, at its inner side, to form ways for a hollow cylinder, E,which is placed within the wheel D.

The cylinder E is constructed of cast-iron,

and is encompassed by a plate, j, of silver,

which extends its whole length, with the exception of the ends or partsR R, that rest on the ways or flanges t. (See Fig. 2). The

periphery of the cylinder E is a short distance %bove the bottom of thecase B, as shown in F is a trough or spout, through which the washescapes from the crusher. This spout extends within the wheel D, and agrating, G, is formed atone side. Directly below the grating G aninclined plate, H, is attached at such an angle that the wash isconducted directly upon the cylinder E.

The operation is as follows: As the wash from the quartz-erusher fallsupon the cylinder E, the silver plate or surface j, which forms the faceor periphery of the same, will amalgamate with the globules ofquicksilver or other alloy of quicksilver and gold which the washcontains, and said globules will be united in a mass as they fall uponthe silver j, the cylinder E slowly rotating, in consequence of therotation of the wheel D, and the amalgam or alloy falling from thesurfacej of the cylinder as it increases in weight and passing outthrough the faucet b, which is opened for that purpose, the lightimpurities of the wash passing out thrbugh the opening 0. By thisimprovement it will be seen that all the fine globules of alloys will beretained in consequence of being united into one mass by means of thecylinder E.

The bars 9 of the wheel D serve to agitate any sediment which maycollect at the bottom of case B, so that any globules of alloy which itmay contain will be brought in contact with the facej of cylinder E.

Having thus described my invention, what and unite by amalgamation theglobules of I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patalloy thatescape with the wash from the ent, is crusher, as herein described.

The employment of a rotating cylinder havi 1 ing its face or periphery jof silver or other JOSEPH FISHEL' suitable metal, and placed within awheel, D, Witnesses:

or arranged in any suitable or equivalent way O. Y. DORRANCE, so as toreceive the Wash from the crusher,

